I was told and had read the best wiring method was the siamese coax/power which is what I went with.

I didn't do a lot of reading, but what is the star light tech they speak of? Is it just a coined named for the IR night cameras?

I was also looking at getting 1 PTZ with auto tracking. It just follows anything moving. Lets you cover a wide area. Once the motion has stop it will center up on your pre-defined point.

Added a link in first post to some legal stuff about home surveillance. Seems pretty basic.

As long as the cable runs aren't so long that the signal experiences voltage drop and isn't susceptible to interference, anything coax or twisted pair wire is fine.

Starlight doesn't use IR illumination- it uses available light. The Digital Watchdog cameras have a setting to increase illumination by 2x through 32x and it works well.

BTW- rather than using DIP switches for changes to settings, the DW cameras have a menu button and is icon-based. Much easier than using little DIP switches, like the SPECO cameras have. For setup, I use a 7" battery-powered TV from KMart- it was $80 and it's great for this. I also use it to test cable/antenna connections and signal.

For the cabling, if it's exposed, put it in conduit. Never under-estimate the inventive abilities of a criminal when it comes to disabling something. A stick with a screw or hook can yank cables out or down, breaking their path and blinding it. IMO, if cables are exposed and reachable, they're only 'video cameras', not 'security cameras'. Also, if they're in conduit, critters can't chew through them. This is less of a problem in soffits and attics, but I have had to repair cabling when it was gnawed by squirrels.

And if you don't mind me asking what software are you using on the DVR, if any?

I would never install a DVR without a UPS. Also, it's not absolutely necessary to buy the one with the largest reserve capacity- the difference between that and the smaller ones is the case and the battery. You can buy a replacement battery with more reserve for far less tan the difference in price and this works great if you make/use a special enclosure for the VCR, to keep it from being seen by people who don't have any business seeing it, or even knowing its location.

The DVRs I use have proprietary software and I do the setup on any computers that need access unless I can't physically go to the computer's location and in that case, the user does the setup (often with help from their IT people). I also set up their smart phones, in most cases. They also use their own software for the computers used to view the video because it has the GUI, access info and tools for capturing stills or video.

The cameras and power supply- 12VDC or 24VAC? If you have long cable runs, 24VAC is better because line loss is less of a problem. With 12VDC, line loss causes higher current, more heat in the circuits and shorter life.

I would never install a DVR without a UPS. Also, it's not absolutely necessary to buy the one with the largest reserve capacity- the difference between that and the smaller ones is the case and the battery. You can buy a replacement battery with more reserve for far less tan the difference in price and this works great if you make/use a special enclosure for the VCR, to keep it from being seen by people who don't have any business seeing it, or even knowing its location.

The DVRs I use have proprietary software and I do the setup on any computers that need access unless I can't physically go to the computer's location and in that case, the user does the setup (often with help from their IT people). I also set up their smart phones, in most cases. They also use their own software for the computers used to view the video because it has the GUI, access info and tools for capturing stills or video.

The cameras and power supply- 12VDC or 24VAC? If you have long cable runs, 24VAC is better because line loss is less of a problem. With 12VDC, line loss causes higher current, more heat in the circuits and shorter life.

It's a 12 volt power supply. The longest run is right at 60'.

I didn't think about an UPS until after I pick the DVR location. It shouldn't be a problem adding one which I'll also need to add one to my router. The software that came with the DVR has the ability to upload both stills and video when motion is detected. I'll probably just do the stills with phone alerts to motion. If I login and see someone I can also start the video upload to my offsite server. This way, if they find the DVR and disable or damage it I'll still have some video for the cops.

__________________
Tim

"Heavy" beer is for wine drinkers that are too embarrassed to drink wine in front of their buddies. "Light" beer is a drinkin' man's beer!

I pick up a BNC compression crimping tool when I placed my order(great little tool). The hammer is for the U staples for the new romex cable I ran for the new power outlet. As you can see, I also had to go back and add some to the electrical the guy ran when my house was built. lol

__________________
Tim

"Heavy" beer is for wine drinkers that are too embarrassed to drink wine in front of their buddies. "Light" beer is a drinkin' man's beer!

I didn't think about an UPS until after I pick the DVR location. It shouldn't be a problem adding one which I'll also need to add one to my router. The software that came with the DVR has the ability to upload both stills and video when motion is detected. I'll probably just do the stills with phone alerts to motion. If I login and see someone I can also start the video upload to my offsite server. This way, if they find the DVR and disable or damage it I'll still have some video for the cops.

You could also get a camera that looks like a motion detector and put it in the room with the DVR, but has an SD card slot. That way, if someone does take the DVR, you have it on the SD card.